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As long as the injured linebacker continues to recover on schedule, the Steelers will be patient. However, each passing moment will wear their patience only thinner.

What do Limas Sweed, Willie Colon and Aaron Smith have in common, outside of a shared inability to catch a football? The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the most patient franchises in the NFL, but even they have their limits.

"He is making small progress, and as long as he is making progress, we will be patient with him and hopefully get him back at full speed at some point."

Surely, the team would love to reattain the services of the young man who proudly represented James Farrior's No.51, during the 2012 preseason. He had garnered the interest of the team's fanbase and following media, and the admiration and respect of his coaches and teammates. The team knew they had a special player, one worth waiting for.

Sadly, after suffering catastrophic damage to multiple integral parts of his knee against the Carolina Panthers in the final preseason game of his rookie year, each passing day delivered equally devastating reports and incalculable recovery times. The Steelers would continue to be patient.

A year later, as answers are almost just as obscure as they began, the Steelers are trying to remain patient. They know what he is capable of, if he can return to form - even if a step slower. Unfortunately, as evidenced by the conflicting commentaries of linebackers coach Keith Butler and head coach Mike Tomlin, the uncertainty surrounding his return is wearing their patience a bit thin.

The team continues to keep the player's sake in mind when discussing his situation, as Colbert is quoted here from his conference call with season ticket holders; but the fact remains they can only wait so long. They are glad he is making progress, but they acknowledge it is slow progress. Truthfully, he still may be unable to continue his football career; but he is doing everything in his power to recover and the team is supporting him at every step.

It's bad enough when a player is injured during the season, it's even worse for a young player to be injured to the extent of Spence during OTAs and training camp. The Steelers may be willing to wait another year to gauge Spence's recovery, but in reality, there may not be a spot for him depending on the final roster come opening day.

Marshall McFadden seems to be much improved, and hungry. Pittsburgh grabbed Brian Rolle early in the off-season and drafted Vince Williams in the 6th round of April's NFL draft. Rolle was involved in a 4-3 defense with his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, but has the build and skills to make the transition; although he may simply be this year's Brandon Johnson. Williams will bear the rookie burden while trying to stay afloat on the depth chart while learning the Steelers 3-4, but he has already exhibited leadership qualities during the team's rookie orientation. Last, but not least, Pittsburgh did re-sign their 2012 starter, veteran Larry Foote, to a three-year deal.

While Spence is forced to focus his full attention on rehabilitation, his teammates are allowed to practice. As he relies on himself for motivation, his teammates will be pushing each other to improve. His teammates will have another off-season working one-on-one with coaches, sharpening the edge they will each have over Spence, even if he is able to recover.

Man I hope this kid recovers and goes on to have a successful career... regardless of who it's with... Same thing goes for the Lattimore kid. I played a little in college, and know what it's like to battle through injuries. Best of luck to those guys.

PITTSBURGH -- Sean Spence's coaches appear split over whether the linebacker's mangled left knee will be ready to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2013.

Spence, however, has no such concerns.

"The goal is for me to play this season," Spence said Wednesday during organized team activities. "That's the way I'm preparing."

Though he declined to mark a specific return date, Spence insists he can see the finish line for his recovery from a gruesome injury that cut short his rookie year before it even began. Spence was blitzing late in the third quarter of the team's final preseason game against Carolina when his knee gave out and bent awkwardly.

The third-round pick out of Miami (Fla.) needed to be taken off the field on a stretcher after tearing all three major ligaments and sustaining extensive nerve damage in the knee.

"I knew right away that something wasn't right," Spence said. "The knee went back. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it should have hurt, but I think I was in shock more than anything."

So were the Steelers, who were hoping Spence could become the eventual successor to James Farrior at inside linebacker. Instead he spent all of Pittsburgh's disappointing 8-8 season wearing a brace and wondering if his career was in jeopardy.

That doesn't appear to be an issue anymore. At least, not to Spence.

"I know a lot of people have not been able to come back after damage like that, but I'm going to see if I can be one of the only ones," he said. "Actually, I know that I'm going to beat the odds. I'm not really worried about that."

Spence's coaches can't seem to agree. Coach Mike Tomlin said before last month's draft that Spence was progressing as planned but linebackers coach Keith Butler appeared to be more cautious, indicating there would be little chance of Spence playing this season, if at all.

The Steelers re-signed veteran Larry Foote in the offseason and grabbed Florida State's Vince Williams in the sixth round of the draft. Williams is considered a project while Foote turns 33 next month. Spence remains very much a part of Pittsburgh's long-term plans. He would just prefer to be a part of the short-term one as well.

Though Spence says he can run and "do everything," he will not be on the field during OTAs or minicamp. His goal is to be ready when training camp opens in July but that seems a bit ambitious. Spence allows that might be too soon, but he doesn't see himself sitting out the year again.

"You do want to play it safe, in a situation like this, but at the same time if I'm good enough to go, I'm gonna go," he said. "I probably will take things slow, but I have trust myself in doing what I know I can do. And if I think I can go, I'll go."

Spence was a tackling machine for the Hurricanes, making 317 stops in four seasons, including 10.5 sacks. His speed makes him an asset in coverage and when he was drafted, the Steelers saw an opportunity to pair him with veteran Lawrence Timmons in the middle of Pittsburgh's 3-4 scheme.

It's too soon to tell if Spence's burst will return, but he is using the downtime to become a better student of the game. Adjusting from college to defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau's complex system can be difficult for the most talented players. Spence hopes the studying he's done over the last year will help speed up the process whenever he puts the shoulder pads back on.

"I think I'm up to speed, and I know this defense pretty well," he said. "I'm still learning from guys like Larry Foote. I sit next to him in meetings, so he helps me out a lot. And I'm taking a lot of mental reps on the field, so I'm learning from them as well.

"They're almost as good as physical reps."

Notes

Steelers S Ryan Clark returned to voluntary workouts on Wednesday after skipping Tuesday's session ... Veteran CB Ike Taylor and S Troy Polamalu were absent for the second straight day after attending all three sessions last week.

BTW, 'Fighting Back - The Rocky Bleier Story' is one of the reasons I became a Steeler fan. I remember watching it when I was a 7 year old kid growing up in Jersey. Memory seems to be fading these days but I'm pretty sure I watched it with my grandmother.